Kevin & Bean's April Foolishness

Who: Jim Jefferies, Patton Oswalt,

Adam Carolla, Tim Minchin and more

When: April 5

Where: The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles

Typically the most successful comics serve as headliners at comedy shows, with up-and-coming acts slated for earlier time slots. Saturday night at Kevin & Bean’s April Foolishness, the sixth annual event presented by modern rock outlet KROQ, that rule of thumb didn’t apply.

Veteran faces like Patton Oswalt, Jim Jefferies and Adam Carolla all performed early in the evening, leaving the latter half to an unsurprisingly super-high Doug Benson, musical comedian Tim Minchin and relative newcomer Eddie Ifft.

The morning show’s charity shindig, held for the first time at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles (as with Almost Acoustic Christmas, it has been relocated from Gibson Amphitheatre), was riddled with hits and misses.

There were moments when the crowd was simply too impatient – or too drunk – to fully absorb smarter bits that needed breathing room in their delivery.

Reggie Watts, added to the roster earlier in the week when Marc Maron dropped off, received lots of blank stares; people seemed too antsy for his slower material and improvisational beat-boxing, and they didn’t get the humor of his “invisible mic” opening segment.

As Oswalt was among the most seasoned acts on the bill, it was a bit of a shock to see him launch the night, and the liquored-up front section started heckling and yelling right away, but he fared well and mentioned numerous times that “I’m glad I’m on early.”

The 45-year-old, who voiced Remy in Pixar’s “Ratatouille,” admitted to taking his 5-year-old daughter to see “Frozen” five times in the theater. “I haven’t seen ‘Blade Runner’ five times in the theater – and I love ‘Blade Runner’!” He also led a roaring sing-along of the Disney film’s inescapable “Let It Go” while offering his best Elsa impression.

Jefferies’ set was spectacularly offensive. The Australian comic and star of FX’s series “Legit” went for the jugular with his stories, which tended to take hilariously disgusting turns at the end.

Carolla, who got his break via Kevin & Bean’s program, played it straight and announced that he was celebrating his 20th anniversary with the radio show. Instead of doing an extended version of his segment “This Week in Rage,” he shared personal stories about his buddy, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, as well as his awkward Grammy Awards date with Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks.

Even in his obviously inebriated state, Benson didn’t disappoint, shutting down hecklers and holding the audiences’ interest. Though one quick quip deserved a cringe, it seemingly went unnoticed as he made mention of the terrible weather in Seattle – and that those who don’t like it can “shoot yourself in the face.” It could have been, but most likely wasn’t, a coincidence that the joke fell on the 20th anniversary of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s shotgun suicide.

Stand-up newbie and runner-up on the last season of “America’s Got Talent,” Taylor Williamson got a lot of laughs during his turn, as did Minchin. That Aussie comic, who also wrote music and lyrics for the Tony-winning musical “Matilda,” received numerous shout-outs for particular songs or jokes.

At the close of his set, however, as he pretended to forget lyrics to one of his songs, the night started losing momentum and patrons could be seen quietly ducking out of the auditorium.

By the time Eddie Ifft hit the stage, inexplicably chosen to close, more people cut out early. He saved himself, though, by quickly addressing the fact that he shouldn’t have headlined: “Nobody wanted to do this show,” he mentioned. “But I’m a man. I’m not afraid.”

He held up, despite more aggressive heckling and a rapidly thinning audience, though he did take one balcony loudmouth to task, saying he should do “a reverse Lincoln assassination” and take the guy out from the stage.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.